Former England captain Andrew Strauss has likened the puzzle of balancing Test and T20 cricket to the complications of "a Rubik's cube" but is optimistic both forms can coexist together.
The announced launch of new white-ball leagues, including the South Africa T20 League and International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates, has further outlined the dominance of the short-form game.
England are set to return to Test cricket this month with a three-game series against South Africa, but the long-term future of the sport's five-day format remains a pressing question.
Strauss acknowledges the challenges presented to balance the two forms are "complicated" within a fast-changing game, but still reasons there is a place for both providing officials do not bury "our heads in the sand".
"The cricket world around us is changing unbelievably quickly," Strauss was quoted by the Guardian. "Every day, every week, every month, we're seeing a new example of how that world is changing.
"We're having to ask ourselves in this country, where does our game fit into that? We [need to] make sure that we have incentives there for our players to play both red-and-white-ball cricket.
"Of course, the ECB have put a lot of time and attention and effort into [giving] the Hundred the potential to be a global short-form event that matches any of these other leagues.
"One of the things that we need to be conscious of in the game in this country is we have to be nimble and adaptable. We can't afford to be slow moving and have our heads in the sand.
"We need to continue promoting all the brilliant things cricket in this country offers players – we want to have a strong domestic game, and we want to make sure the players are playing the right balance of formats.
"I still maintain they can sit together comfortably, Test cricket and T20 cricket. But the challenge we have is, can we produce a manageable schedule that allows players to do both?
"That is really complicated. It's multi-dimensional. It's like a big Rubik's Cube."
Strauss will be on hand this Thursday for the second day of England's Test against South Africa, when Lord's will host its annual Red for Ruth day in memory of the ex-captain's late wife, who passed from lung cancer in 2018.
Ben Stokes' side are looking to maintain their rich vein of form, with the team unbeaten since he succeeding Joe Root as captain earlier this year.
Maia Bouchier and Danielle Gibson handed their first central contracts by ECB
Maia Bouchier and Danielle Gibson have been handed their first central contracts by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
England Women have once again issued 18 full-time deals, with the retired Katherine Sciver-Brunt and the dropped Freya Davies the only omissions from last year’s list.
Bouchier is rewarded following a season that ended with her cracking a career-best 95 against Sri Lanka in the final ODI of the campaign, while Gibson made her debut in the T20 leg of this summer’s Ashes contest.
Issy Wong remains in the group despite a difficult year that saw high expectations meet mixed form on the field.
In addition, supplementary development contracts have been handed to rising stars Mahika Gaur, Lauren Filer and Bess Heath, all of whom broke into the international setup over the summer.
While the men’s side moved recently to a system of multi-year contracts, with several leading players tied into two and three-year arrangements, the women’s squad remains on 12-month agreements.
Yet the ECB has announced that the terms include “significant structural improvements” as well as increased bonuses for victories over the strongest opposition and the previously-announced upgrade to match fees, which are now equal with the men’s team.
England director of women’s cricket, Jonathan Finch said: “Maia Bouchier and Danielle Gibson have been part of our group over the summer, have performed well and will be important players for England moving forward.
“The introduction of development contracts is a key step for us and allows us to support a wider group of players in their ongoing development and we will work closely with the regions to manage the players’ development and workloads.
“After a record-breaking Ashes summer, we have a really exciting 12 months of cricket ahead and we feel this group of players will form the foundations of our side that will take us through various bilateral series and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.”
England conclude their 2023 calendar on tour in India, with three T20s at Mumbai’s storied Wankhede Stadium this week followed by a one-off Test at the DY Patil Stadium.
For many, including Sarah Glenn, it is a first chance to experience cricket in India, where England last toured in 2019.
As a leg-spinner, Glenn is particularly keen to explore her game in a nation that has produced some of the finest slow bowlers ever.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s series opener, Glenn said: “I’m really excited. I’ve never played in India before or in front of Indian crowds, so it’s something new for me.
“It’s something I’ve always looked forward to and wanted to be part of.
“This tour is more than just games, it’s a chance to develop my game here, learn off others with how they go about it and see where I can take my spin bowling.
“I’m always looking to improve, so I’ll have a play around with it and see what is the best way to take wickets.”
Mitchell Johnson: Does David Warner deserve to sign off from Tests on own terms?
Mitchell Johnson has launched on astonishing broadside at David Warner, questioning whether his former Australia team-mate deserves to sign off from Tests on his own terms.
Warner has been Australia’s linchpin opener for over a decade and key to their World Cup triumph, but he expressed his wish to retire from Tests at the end of their series against Pakistan in Sydney next month.
He has been named in their squad for the first match in Perth, starting on December 14, despite averaging 28.9 in his last 25 Tests, amassing just one hundred – albeit a double ton – in that time.
But Warner was criticised for trying to organise his own farewell by former fast bowler Johnson, who thinks the 37-year-old is undeserving of one, pointing to his role in the 2018 ball-tampering saga.
In his column for The West Australian, Johnson, who represented Australia 256 times in all formats, wrote: “It’s been five years and David Warner has still never really owned the ball-tampering scandal.
“He has a decent overall record and some say is one of our greatest opening bats. But his past three years in Test cricket have been ordinary, with a batting average closer to what a tailender would be happy with.
“Now the way he is going out is underpinned by more of the same arrogance and disrespect to our country. As we prepare for David Warner’s farewell series, can somebody please tell me why?
“Why a struggling Test opener gets to nominate his own retirement date. And why a player at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history warrants a hero’s send-off?”
Johnson, who played 26 Tests alongside Warner including the 2013/14 Ashes in which the former left-arm fast bowler terrorised England, also censured Australia’s selectors.
George Bailey, Australia’s chief selector and another former team-mate of Johnson, was accused of being too close to some players.
“The handling of Warner in recent years, who played with Bailey in all three forms, raises the question of whether Bailey was simply too quickly out of playing and into the job and too close to some of the players,” Johnson added.
Responding to Johnson’s critique, Bailey told a press conference: “Ultimately, we still think (Warner) is in our best 11 players to win the first Test.”
Will Jacks looks at positives after England central contract snub
Will Jacks might be one of the figures charged with leading England’s ODI revival but he discovered he had missed out on a central contract through social media.
A total of 29 individuals received an annual, multi-year or developmental England deal in October but despite playing in every international format in the last 12 months, Jacks was curiously absent from the bunch.
Even more striking is Jacks’ admission that he was not forewarned by director of men’s cricket Rob Key ahead of an announcement, the timing of which midway through a faltering World Cup was criticised.
Jacks has since had some feedback about the snub but the big-hitting all-rounder takes the positives from not being tied down and is likely to explore the lucrative T20 franchise market in the next few months.
Representing England remains his top priority, though, and he has been tasked with opening the batting alongside Phil Salt, who also did not get a central contract, as Jos Buttler’s ODI side look to draw a line under a woeful World Cup in the series opener against the West Indies on Sunday.
“It’s a bit of a difficult one, I didn’t really find out at all,” he said. “I knew everyone was hearing and I was waiting, hoping I would find out and then I didn’t. I ended up seeing it on Twitter like everyone else did and that was obviously disappointing.
“Maybe it came one or two tours early and maybe if I’d played a little bit more, maybe I would have had one. They said it is always about why other people have one above me which is understandable, nothing really negative about me.
“It’s just what it is and I just want to move on. You never know, it could work in my favour. It means I’m free to plan my winter and my life but I will be using this tour and hopefully the rest of the year to prove my case to hopefully get one for next year.”
Jacks has made a dozen appearances in his embryonic international career but his fearless approach with the bat and ever-improving off-spin make him an appealing option for England’s next Test assignment in India in the new year.
But Jacks has committed himself to the SA20 – South Africa’s domestic T20 competition – which clashes with the five-match series on the subcontinent.
“Obviously England is the pinnacle and I want to play as much as I can but what (not getting a contract) has done is it’s almost managed my expectations,” Jacks said.
“The India Test matches have obviously been in the back of everyone’s mind for the recent period – such a massive series and there’s all the talk about spin and the need for all-rounders and having a deep squad.
“Instead of me thinking that I was going to be picked, I’m now thinking ‘if they wanted to pick me then realistically, I would have been given a contract’. The fact that they haven’t given me one probably says something.”
Jacks is set to be in India at some point early in 2024, having been one of nine Englishmen retained by their Indian Premier League franchises, despite a thigh injury ruling him out of contention for Royal Challengers Bangalore last year.
Having missed out on England’s miserable defence of their 50-over World Cup, Jacks is desperate to be involved in the T20 equivalent in the Caribbean in June.
The 25-year-old is therefore eager to take his chance on a reconnaissance job in these three ODIs followed by three T20s.
“I just want to play some cricket,” he added. “I love playing for England but if I’m not selected then I’m very happy playing T20 cricket.
“There’s a World Cup coming up in June here so it will be good to get used to these conditions and that’s a priority for me.”
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